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Despite the axe of My Family, Robert Lindsay will be back on TV screens sooner than you think with a new sitcom. The new BBC One show will focus on the family life of two middle-aged gay men, with former My Family actor Lindsay in the lead role once again.

Filming is due to start in the autumn, with a TV insider telling The Mirror: “Yes, it’s slightly less than conventional in terms of the family set-up but it’s the 21st Century and things move on.

“The BBC have commissioned a pilot and will make the call once it’s all wrapped up. But all signs point towards this being a perfect prime-time vehicle. The two big names involved show this could be very special.”

My Family's final episode after more than a decade on TV will air later next month, with Lindsay blasting the decision to axe the show.

He said: “It’s got so many fans and the BBC have treated it appallingly. They ruined it by putting it out after 9pm. It’s a genuinely good family show – as my dad used to say, you can watch it safely with your grandchildren.”

Cheryl Taylor, controller of comedy commissioning, said: “Now that almost a generation of British children have grown up with the Harper brood, played by Kris Marshall, Daniela Denby-Ashe and Gabriel Thompson, we’re looking to the future with new families and new comedies that we hope will prove equally popular.”